We already know there's bipartisan common ground on health care. Democrats are at the table. We want to work with Republicans interested in solutions.

In Virginia, an insurer wants to hike rates by as much as 64%. In Maryland, it’s as much as 91%. And unfortunately, more double-digit increases in premiums for 2019 are expected to be announced over the coming weeks and months.

It’s clear why this is happening — because President Trump and Republican leaders made it happen. Since day one, Trump and Republicans have put partisan politics and special interests ahead of patients in desperate attempts at fulfilling the Tea Party promise to "repeal Obamacare."

Republicans tried again and again over the past year to pass bills that would raise health care costs, leave millions fewer covered, and gut protections for women, seniors, and people with pre-existing conditions. They raised 2018 premiums by injecting uncertainty into health care markets and by intentionally making it harder for people to learn about coverage options and enroll. And as Tom Price, Trump’s former health and human services secretary, accidentally admitted behind closed doors, Republicans passed a tax bill they knew would raise families’ premiums even higher in 2019 — while giving insurers a massive tax break.

All of this is deeply frustrating. But what makes it even worse is that it was completely avoidable. Democrats have consistently urged Republicans to join us in making health care work better — and we came close this past year. Senate Democrats and Republicans, led by Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander and me, worked since August on bipartisan legislation that would roll back some of Republicans’ health care sabotage, help lower health care costs, and stabilize markets. This legislation had the support of every Senate Democrat, as well as Senate Republicans across the political spectrum.

But instead of even allowing a vote on our agreement, Republican leaders blocked it in favor of trying for the umpteenth time to repeal Obamacare. When we tried again, they tanked it by demanding new, extreme policies at the last minute that would raise premiums on seniors, help insurers sell junk insurance plans, and restrict a woman’s freedom to choose the coverage she believes is right for her. What had been an agreement between Democrats and Republicans turned into an agreement between Republicans and Vice President Pence — which is no way to make good, bipartisan policy.

Now, it unfortunately won’t come as a surprise to anyone that bipartisanship in Congress fell apart because Republican leaders preferred opposing Obamacare and using women’s health as a political football. In fact, it would be easy to do what some of my Republican colleagues have chosen to do — to throw up your hands and say there’s simply no way Democrats and Republicans can work together on health care.

But as someone who has worked across the aisle on tough issues — not just health care, but others like the budget and K-12 education — I believe there is a path forward. Our bipartisan negotiations on near-term health care reforms showed just how much agreement there really is among Democrats and Republicans about what we should do over the next two years to help people pay less for better care. There's every reason to focus on that common ground again.

As more insurers file rates demanding patients pay the price for the health care sabotage we’ve seen this past year, and as some Republicans throw in the towel on bipartisanship and point fingers, I want any Republican who is interested in solutions, not partisanship, and who is focused on helping patients, not special interests, to know that I’m still ready to get back to work.

We’ve found common ground on health care before. The only reason we can’t again is if one party chooses not to look for it. That won't be Democrats. We're already at the table.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington is a senior member of Democratic leadership, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and the highest-ranking woman in the Senate. Follow her on Twitter: @PattyMurray